MetroWest Center for Independent Living seeks new executive director after leader’s death
PHOTO | Courtesy MetroWest Center for Independent Living
Paul Spooner, former executive director of MetroWest Center for Independent Living, at a 2016 rally.
MetroWest Center for Independent Living in Framingham is looking for a permanent replacement after the unexpected death of longtime executive director Paul Spooner in October.
MWCIL is a service provider for adults with disabilities seeking to gain the necessary skills to lead independent lives. The center provides advocacy assistance, skills training, peer support, and transitional help for those moving out of institutions and into the community. The nonprofit generates about $1.1 million in revenue annually, according to Guidestar.org
Spooner, who had worked at the center for 30 years, was a lifelong advocate for disabled people and was disabled himself, said Rose Quinn, acting director.
“He built the center into what it is now,” Quinn said. “The task now is to find someone who can replace him.”
Spooner was born in Hawaii and lived in Japan and Switzerland with his parents before returning to the U.S. at age 8 to be treated for a medical condition that left him with a permanent disability, according to a tribute to him posted on the MetroWest Center for Independent Living website. He attended Southeastern Massachusetts University, now UMass Dartmouth, for his undergraduate degree and obtained his master’s degree from Assumption University in Worcester in 1989.
He joined the MetroWest Center for Independent Living in 1992 and rose to the ranks to become executive director. Among his many accomplishments were he was present at the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on the White House lawn in 1990.\
He died Oct. 8 at age 67.
Quinn was formerly the assistant director of the MetroWest Center for Independent Living and has been at the center for 32 years. The board of directors expects to hire for the role by the end of February, she said.
“This is a huge deal for our organization,” she said.
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